Can’t Afford Organic All The Time? No Worries, These 15 Foods Have Virtually No Pesticides!

While many health-conscious shoppers choose to buy organic produce, the reality is that this option isn’t always accessible to everyone.

With organic food often costing significantly more than non-organic food due to production, marketing and distribution costs as well as the limits of supply and demand (according to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations), many people struggle to buy organic, even if they want to make healthier, ethically sourced food a part of their daily diet.

Enter the Environmental Working Group, an organization which produces an annual report on the state of organic food in North America; their “dirty dozen” and “clean fifteen” lists of foods that are affected most and least by pesticides, respectively, have become a sort of bible for consumers trying to make the healthiest, most sustainable choices when it comes to produce, without breaking the bank.

This year, as in previous years, spinach, kale and collard greens made the Dirty Dozen list, meaning that if you’re going to splurge on organic produce, you should probably focus on organic versions of these popular veggies. Other foods featured on the Dirty Dozen list were apples, cucumbers, bell peppers, and grapes – all foods with relatively thin skins that don’t provide much protection from the harmful effects of pesticides.

Foods That Are Almost Completely Pesticide-Free

By contrast, foods on the “Clean Fifteen” list such as avocados, cantaloupe, eggplant, and grapefruit had relatively low rates of pesticide contamination – so even if you can’t afford to buy organic all the time, you can rest assured knowing that even non-organic versions of these foods are relatively safe to consume.

How clean you ask? According to the EWG of all avocados tested, only 1 percent showed any detectable pesticides at all, while a grand total of 89 percent of all pineapples tested had zero residues according to the study.

Whether you buy local, organic produce or opt to mix conventional and organic foods, the Mayo Clinic recommends the following tips for making sure your food is both as health and sustainable as possible:

• Mix it up. Don’t buy all your produce from a single source – buying a wider variety of foods      from multiple sources will limit your exposure to any single pesticide.
• Buy seasonal food. Try locating a local farmer’s market and buying produce there to support  local agriculture and make sure that you’re getting freshest food possible.
• Wash all your produce thoroughly before eating it. This helps remove not only pesticide   residue, but also dirt and bacteria that even organic produce can have.
• Be aware of the contents of what you eat. Always read food labels carefully and don’t       assume that just because a label says “organic” the food is automatically good for you – junk      food  made from organic ingredients can still be high in sugar and salt.

sources:

• http://www.fao.org/organicag/oa-faq/oa-faq5/en/
• http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-investor/personal-finance/household-finances/is-organic-food- too-costly/article4401420/
• http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/organic-still-a-small-slice-of-the-pie/
• http://www.ewg.org/
• http://www.ewg.org/foodnews/summary.php
• http://www.ers.usda.gov/topics/natural-resources-environment/organic-agriculture/organic-market- overview.aspx
• http://www.ewg.org/foodnews/dirty_dozen_list.php
• http://www.ewg.org/foodnews/clean_fifteen_list.php
• http://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-living/nutrition-and-healthy-eating/in-depth/organic-food/art- 20043880?pg=2                                                                                                                            http://dailyhealthpost.com/foods-that-are-pesticides-free/

5 Delicious detox smoothies to shed belly weight and keep you healthy

Who knew that eating fat could help you flatten your belly? Monounsaturated fats, the good for you fats found in avocados as example, are part of a healthy diet regimen that helps you to lose weight, especially belly fat, and keep you healthy. Those delicious, easy to prepare detox smoothies also combine superfoods to help you achieve optimum health.

5 Detox Smoothies Recipes

Silky Mango Smoothie

• 1/4 cup mango cubes
• 1/4 cup avocado
• 1/2 cup of orange juice
• 1 tbsp freshly squeezed lime juice

Combine all ingredients in a blender and process until smooth.

Brain health blueberry dream smoothie

• 1 cup of unsweetened frozen blueberries, thawed
• 1 small banana
• 1 tbsp of cold-pressed flaxseed oil

Combine all ingredients in a blender and process until smooth.

Strong bones green almonds smoothie

• 1/2 cup almond milk
• 2 tbsp natural almond butter
• 1 small banana
• 1 small handful of kale leaves

Combine all ingredients in a blender and process until smooth.

Healthy heart choco-raspberry smoothie

• 1/2 cup almond milk
• 1/4 organic, fair-trade dark chocolate chips or chunks
• 1 cup of fresh organic raspberries

Combine all ingredients in a blender and process until smooth.

Healthy dessert in a glass

• 1/2 cup of almond milk
• 1 small banana
• 2 tbsp of natural hazelnut butter
• 1 tsp of organic, fair –trade cocoa powder
• 1 tbsp of maple syrup

Combine all ingredients in a blender and process until smooth.

http://lifewithnature.com/detox-foods/5-delicious-detox-smoothies-to-shed-belly-weight-and-keep-you-healthy/

The 101 on Raw Food and Digestion

Eek! You started a raw food diet and noticed something alarming: suddenly your body is running a little more slowly, you’re not visiting the bathroom as regularly, you have a tiny – or larger? – food baby all the time… what gives, body? Isn’t raw food supposed to be super cleansing and the easiest thing for us to break down?

Not so fast. There are a few things to take into consideration when working raw foods into your diet. It’s important to know that, yes, there is value to eating raw food!  Some great raw options for most diets include sprouted raw nut butters and soaked, sprouted seeds or grains.

There’s also value in cooked food and it’s important to remember that everyone’s body will respond differently to a combination of raw and cooked foods. Read on for more about the raw versus cooked plant food question. You’ll also find some ways to keep your body happy using cooked plant-based ingredients, especially if you’re noticing that raw foods are a little jarring to your sensitive system at first. Remember, easing into a raw lifestyle is a smarter approach, not forcing your body to do something it may not be ready for yet.

Things to Remember About Raw Food and Digestion:

Raw Foods Are Cooling

Cool foods slow digestion. Think of your digestive tract as a rain forest: in order for it function at its best, it needs to be moist and warm. Too dry (like a desert) or too cold (like a tundra) and things go into slow-down survival mode (you would, too, if you were in an extreme environment like that!). Raw foods cool, while warm foods… warm. While cold smoothies have their place in a diet, too much of them may offset digestion. Something like these Baked Swiss Chard and Sweet Potato Spring Rolls would be a great way to work in the cooked veggies without overtaxing your body’s fiber load and still benefiting from cooked healthy foods.

Fiber is a Tricky Beast

We’re taught that fiber is essential to regularity, so wouldn’t it make sense that packing tons of fruit, veggie and seed fiber into the body should make digestive trouble a non-issue? Well, there are two kinds of fiber: soluble and insoluble. Soluble fiber, like flax and apple flesh, readily absorbs water and becomes fluid in the body. Insoluble fiber, like the dense crisscrossed structure of a kale leaf, does not break down in water and requires ample chewing to be able to move through the body. It’s more prone to slowing things down if improperly chewed or if it’s introduced to an environment already lacking in water. Here’s an article on Cooking Greens So They Taste Delicious that will also make digestion a bit easier at the same time. Don’t fear fiber, just remember to include a mix of different kinds so your body stays in balance. This Steamed Sweet Potatoes With Wild Rice, Basil, and Tomato Chili Sauce is also a great recipe that’s a perfect example of a nice mix of soluble and insoluble fiber.

Your GI Tract Would Really Prefer to Break Down Liquids

When we cook foods, the heat begins the process of taking apart the macronutrients, so by the time these foods reach the stomach, they’re partially broken down. This makes the GI tract’s job a little easier; after all, the stomach won’t heat up to partially cook something before breaking it down, and it doesn’t have teeth to tear. The wisdom that we should chew our food until it’s liquid applies to raw food, too: we want to do a little work on the stomach’s behalf before we overwhelm it with tough-to-break down fiber.  You should of course, still eat, and not consume liquids alone, but don’t forget to chew your food, even if it’s a yummy smoothie, or a warm, liquid soup. (Want some semi-liquid recipes to start with? See these 10 Plant-Based Stews Using Global Flavors.) Plus, if the stomach sends only partially broken down food to the small intestine, the backlog of work just continues throughout your system. This leads to bloating and backups, especially because…

High-fiber Foods Absorb Water

So now you have a gut full of partially digested fiber. It’s pulling in all of the water it can find, and stirring up anything else that has been hanging out in your system. Unless you’re incredibly well-hydrated, your system will become too dry to move all of this bulk out. Brussels sprouts are particularly tricky: it’s like eating a whole mini cabbage! Get their nutrient goodness in these Stir-fried Brussels Sprout Leaves with Ginger and Curry instead.

Fats From Oils May Help Keep the Body Lubricated

Often, we don’t incorporate enough oil when eating an exclusively raw diet. Some people don’t do well with oil, so please decide how it works for you before adhering to any advice. For those struggling with digestion and regularity, the use of a little oil on a raw salad can help to lubricate the body and prevents digestion from being held up. Cooking with coconut oil, olive oil or sesame oil can be helpful ways to add these beneficial fats into your diet; plus, the vitamins in fruits and veggies are fat-soluble. Adding healthy fats to dishes not only makes things taste good; it actually makes them more nutritious. There are some great ways to use oil alongside high-fiber veggies in this post, 10 Ways to Cook with Root Veggies. If you don’t tolerate oil well, then be sure to eat healthy, whole food fats like avocados and raw coconut meat, which will also provide healthy fats in a lighter format.

Use Dried Fruit With Awareness and Caution

Place a raisin in water and what happens? It rehydrates. It also becomes gooey and sticky… exactly what happens when dried fruit rehydrates in the GI tract. As a popular component of raw food diets, these are a common culprit in digestive trouble, somewhat because of the concentrated sugars, and because some people’s systems don’t handle them as well as others. This isn’t to say they won’t work for some  people (since they may actually help some people with slow digestion), but if you’re using them and having trouble, ease up on the dates, figs, raisins, etc. and use fresh, whole berries (or frozen) instead. Or, try lightly poaching or baking fruit: not only is it easier to break down, the warmth can help soothe your whole system and keep things humming. Check out these fun ways to cook with a variety of fruits.

Remember that raw and cooked foods both have their place in a diet, especially if you’re new to healthy eating and your system is still learning the ropes. Don’t adhere to rigidity or “shoulds” when embracing plant-based nutrition. Listen to your body and incorporate a variety of whole, plant-based foods into your routine.

http://www.onegreenplanet.org/natural-health/raw-food-and-digestion-basics/

3 Ingredient Omega-3 Smoothie to Nourish Your Heart and Brain

by Carol Lehmann

3 Ingredient Omega-3 Smoothie to Nourish Your Heart and Brain 

Top 7 Amazing Fruits To Lose Weight And Burn Belly Fat Instantly

When it comes to losing weight, what you eat is as important as what you do not. And, eating fruits can be fabulous way to lose weight. Low on calories and packed with nutrients, they also keep your belly full for a long time. Whether it is for breakfast, lunch or dinner, or anytime in between your meals, you can enjoy those delicious fruits anywhere.
Recent researches also suggest that consuming certain fruits can help you burn fat and speed up your race to reach your fitness goals. Well, if you are intrigued, then read on to know about the top fat-burning fruits that will aid your weight loss.
Recommended Read: 7 Awesome Slimming Body Wraps Every Bride-to-be Must Try

#1. Avocado

Avocados top the list of fruits that have a high fat content, but they are on the top of the list of fat-buring fruits as well. Here is why, this fruit has high amounts of omega 9 fatty acids, which are monosaturated fats that are healthy for your body.

Avocados help to increase the rate at which fat is converted to energy, thus boosting your metabolism. They also help to increase certain hormones that are further aid weight loss in both men and women. Avocados inform your brain that your stomach is full, thus helping to prevent unhealthy food cravings.
Don't Miss: 8 Amazing Reasons to Add Avocados in Your Bridal Beauty Kit

#2. Apples

Talking about healthy fat-burning fruits, we cannot miss out on the wondrous apples. They are a big help when it comes to losing weight.

Apples are high in fibre and low in calories- this makes them a great snack. This is just what you require to make you feel full and stay away from binging. They are also rich in vitamins B and C, antioxidants and minerals that help to keep your body energised.
Recommended Read: The 6 Smart Tricks To Lose Weight With Your Partner

#3. Blueberries

All berries are good for your body, but blueberries are the best of the lot. Blueberries contain high amounts of antioxidants, which bless them with fat-fighting properties.

The nutrients in them help to boost your metabolism, and make your body more efficient in buring calories. They have a low glycaemic index; which means that they will satisfy your sweet tooth without adding extra sugar in your body. Even studies have shown that people who consumed blueberries daily had better shot at belly fat loss than those who did not.
Recommended Read: The 6 Smart Tricks To Lose Weight With Your Partner

#4. Grapefruit

According to some fitness experts, if you eat grapefruit daily, you can actually fasten your weight loss journey, without having to make too many changes in your diet.

The high water content in grapefruits helps to cleanse the system from within, and also keeps you hydrated and satiated. In addition, the fat burning enzymes in the fruit make it a super food for weight loss. Since it takes more energy to digest this fruit, it further helps you burn more calories.

#5. Coconut

This is a sweet and filing snack, which is perfect to satisfy your mid-meal cravings.

Coconut helps to keep you feel full, thereby helping you consume fewer calories. Being loaded with medium chain triglycerides (MCTs), coconuts provide a great boost (up to 30 per cent) to the rate of metabolism.

#6. Pomegranates

According to studies, the polyphenols antioxidant in this fruit help to boost your metabolism. They also enable the body to get rid of the toxins.

What’s more? Pomegranates help to lower your appetite. Which is why, you should drink a glass of pomegranate juice in breakfast or add it to your salad bowl before lunch. So, indulge in this sweet fruit to satisfy your sweet tooth and your untimely hunger pangs.

#7. Lemons

You already know what a great detoxifying fruit lemons are. Well, this and much more makes this tangy fruit a part of our list.

Renowned as liver detoxifiers, a healthy liver is essential in order to maintain the ability of the body to digest food and burn fat. Since they prevent fat accumulation in the body, lemons are amazing for weight loss.

This You Should Remember:

While buying fruits, stay away from canned ones as they contain sugar syrups and are high in energy density. The best fruits for your health are the natural ones, so it is always good if you use fresh fruits only. Combine your weight loss plan with a daily exercise regimen and watch all those excess kilos get knocked off from your body in no time.

Apart from helping you battle the bulge, fruits offer a host of other health benefits too. They help improve blood circulation, increase immunity, improve digestion, nourish skin and hair, and promote overall health. So, add these amazing weight loss fruits to your diet to boost your fight against fat!
http://www.gist4today.com/2015/03/top-7-amazing-fruits-to-lose-weight-and.html

How To Properly Wash Fruits And Vegetables To Remove The Harmful Chemicals

With using a few simple tips, you can protect yourself and your family from the raw food poisoning. Before the washing of the fruits and vegetables, you need to clean the work area and the cutting boards and then you need to wash your hands good with soap and warm water.

If the equipment is not clean, bacteria from the surface of the raw foods could come in contact with them during cutting and peeling.

If you want your fruits and vegetables to be healthy for eating you need to wash them good and remove the bacteria and chemicals which are found on the surface, and rinsing it with water is often not enough.

The green leafy vegetables need to be separated and kept submerged in water for several minutes. Then the leaves need to drain and the procedure must be repeated. The water will be enough for vegetables with organic origin, but if you are not sure of the way of the cultivation, wash it with vinegar.

Mix two cups of water with half a cup of distilled white vinegar and soak the leaves of the vegetable in this mixture for 5 minutes and then rinse with clean water.

Dry with a clean kitchen towel. In this way the presence of bacteria is reduced, but not removed and the vinegar may partly affect the texture and taste of the food.

Vegetables like broccoli and cauliflower need to be kept in cold water for a minute before washing it with water or the combination of vinegar and water. Vegetables and fruits with thick skins, as tomatoes and mangos, need to be cleaned with a brush which is exclusively designed for raw foods before the washing.

You need to wash the fruits even if you do not eat the peel, like watermelon and melon, so the bacteria from the surface are not exposed on the area during the cutting. Most of the bacteria will retain on the remains on that area with which some foods may be covered.

In this case at first it is necessary to rinse the foods under running water and wipe them nicely and then prepare them for eating. Besides the vinegar, the combination of salt and lemon juice acts against pesticides and bacteria.

Fill a bowl with water and add a teaspoon of salt and juice from one lemon. Put green fruits or vegetables in this mixture and let them stay like that for 10 to 15 minutes.

Then rinse with water, dry and serve. If you do not want to wash foods with anything other than clean water, then soak them in water during the night and in the morning rinse them with lukewarm water.

Do not wash fruits and vegetables right after you buy them because in this way they will spoil faster. You can wash the food before use in the following ways.

The spray for the chemical removal has to act for at least ten minutes

Vegetables and fruits can be washed with the help of the spray which is simple to prepare. Buy a bottle with aerosols and wash it.

Add a tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice, two tablespoons of vinegar and 250 ml of water in it. Close it strongly and tightly then shake so you can mix the ingredients.

Spray the fruits and vegetables before use, leave it for ten minutes and then rinse them under running cold water. Wipe with a clean towel before peeling and cutting. After rinsing, the taste and smell of vinegar will not be felt.

The cabbage, eggplant, cauliflower and pineapple are the least treated foods

The intake of fruit and vegetables treated with pesticides can be reduced by buying organically produced food but this is financially impossible for many people.

If you can not buy organic foods, choose the ones which are treated with pesticides. In this group are cabbage, garlic, asparagus, tomato azure, quiver, cauliflower, mango, kiwi, avocado, pineapple and oranges.

However, in citrus fruit you need to pay more attention and the use of their skin is not recommended, for example in the preparation of cakes.

http://womansvibe.com/how-to-properly-wash-fruits-and-vegetables-to-remove-the-harmful-chemicals/

The BEST Pre & Post Workout Snacks and Why!

There is no secret why fitness enthusiasts choose to eat certain foods before and after a workout-they each serve their purposes! What you fuel your body with can really make a greater impact in your health &  fitness goals, even more than you may realize. The goal is also to control your insulin or blood sugar levels to keep your workouts successful! Check out these simple food swaps to beat the muffin top!

Let’s start with pre-workout snacks. You may have heard about the great big debate on whether or not its a good idea to eat before a workout. Here are some of the benefits to having a little pre-workout snack: less fatigue, more energy, and decrease chance your blood sugar will be low enough to make you faint!

Instead of aiming for a full meal right before your workout, try these snacks below. They are designed to give you the energy or carbs you need to make your workout count!

Pre Workout Snacks

• Dried fruits
• Fresh Fruits
• Oatmeal
• Quinoa
• Rice Cakes with Nut Butter
• Banana with Almond Butter
• Smoothie
• Whole grain cereal with a cup of almond milk
• Granola or fruit & nut bar such as KIND or Larabar

Post workout snacks are just as important. After all that work that you have just put your body through, it needs some refueling to recover. Think of your body like a tank filled with gas. That gas or pre-workout snacks fuels you up for that intense workout. After the workout, you feel worn out! Your body is simply low on fuel or gas and needs a snack!

After a workout, your body craves more protein to nourish those muscles that have just been put to work. Protein not only helps the muscles recover, but they encourage and facilitate new muscle growth! You don’t just need protein post-workout though-you also need some carbs for more energy! Here are a few great classic post-workout snacks that have been tried & true.

Post Workout Snacks

• Chocolate Milk
• Boiled Eggs
• Protein Shakes
• Protein Bars
• Cottage Cheese with Berries
• Greek Yogurt with Berries
• Peanut Butter on Wheat Toast
• Hummus with Baby Carrots
• Cheese & Whole Grain Crackers
• Nuts

Next time you fuel up for a workout, think about what you are putting into your body and whether or not it can help or hinder your routine!

http://www.dailyhiit.com/hiit-blog/hiit-diet/healthy-recipes/best-pre-post-workout-snacks/

3 Veggie Smoothies Your Kids Will Love — Yes, Really

BY ELIZABETH STARK

Do your kids eat enough vegetables? If you answered yes, by all means, go plop a couple scoops of ice cream or beet sorbet into a bowl and pat yourself on the back. You’ve done some great work! Truly. For the other 96 percent of us, there are smoothies. Of course, a call for spinach smoothies might not get your littles galloping to the kitchen, but with a few fun and fruity twists, healthy vegetable-based smoothies can be a painless, and even a delicious, part of your day.

The secret to great veggie smoothies is balance — sweet, somewhat mild vegetables like carrots, beets, or spinach are balanced by a range of fruits like bananas, blueberries, pears, and oranges. For each of these veggie wonders, I played with texture and sweetness to achieve a balanced, absolutely kid-friendly sip. And, to be completely sure these smoothies would go over well with kids, I enlisted my 7- and 3-year-old daughters as test subjects. Head below for all three kid-approved smoothie recipes!

A few notes on making vegetable smoothies at home: A powerful blender shouldn’t have any trouble blending vegetables to prime smoothie form, but if you’ve got a more modest blender, do a little experimentation. Start by chopping the vegetables into little bits and consider grating the tougher vegetables like carrots and beets for seamless blending. It’s also worth noting that frosty smoothies are the most delicious, so start a few days ahead by stockpiling frozen, peeled bananas in the freezer. Freeze bananas flat on a parchment-lined surface, then bag frozen bananas and store until needed.

3 Kid-Approved Veggie Smoothies:

Carrot Orange Smoothies

Prep time: 5 minutes
Makes: 32 ounces, or 4 8-ounce servings

Ingredients:
1 cup peeled, chopped carrots
1 orange, peeled and chopped
1 frozen banana, chopped
1 cup ice
1 cup orange juice

Directions:
Layer the ice, banana chunks, orange segments, and carrots in the blender, add the orange juice, and blend until smooth.

Beet Berry Smoothies

Prep time: 5 minutes
Makes: 32 ounces, or 4 8-ounce servings

Ingredients:
1 cup peeled, chopped beets
1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries
1 frozen banana, chopped
1 cup ice
1 cup orange juice

Directions:
Layer ice, banana chunks, blueberries, and beets in blender, add orange juice, and blend until smooth.

Spinach Avocado Smoothies

Prep time: 5 minutes
Makes: 32 ounces, or 4 8-ounce servings

Ingredients:
1 packed cup spinach leaves
1 avocado, chopped
1 large Bartlett pear, sliced
1 frozen banana, chopped
1 1/4 cup ice
1 1/4 cup orange juice

Directions:
Layer ice, banana chunks, avocado, pear slices, and spinach in blender, add orange juice, and blend until smooth.

http://www.babble.com/best-recipes/kid-approved-veggie-smoothies-3-fresh-takes/

Super Healthy Raw Food Smoothie

Super Healthy Raw Food Smoothie

What Separates A Healthy And Unhealthy Diet? Just $1.50 Per Day

A Safeway customer browses in the fruit and vegetable section at Safeway

 in Livermore, Calif.

Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

If you want to eat a more healthful diet, you're going to have to shell out more cash, right? (After all, Whole Foods didn't get the nickname "Whole Paycheck" for nothing.)

But until recently, that widely held bit of conventional wisdom hadn't really been assessed 

in a rigorous, systematic way, says Dr. Dariush Mozaffarian, a cardiologist and epidemiologist at the Harvard School of Public Health.

So he and his colleagues decided to pore over 27 studies from 10 different developed countries that looked at the retail prices of food grouped by healthfulness. Across these countries, it turns out, the cost difference between eating a healthful and unhealthful diet 

was pretty much the same: about $1.50 per day. And that price gap held true when they focused their research just on U.S. food prices, the researchers found in their meta-analysis of these studies.

"I think $1.50 a day is probably much less than some people expected," Mozaffarian tells The Salt, "but it's also a real barrier for some low-income families," for whom it would translate to about an extra $550 a year.

Still, from a policy perspective, he argues, $1.50 a day is chump change. "That's the cost of a cup of coffee," he says. "It's trivial compared to the cost of heart disease or diabetes, which is hundreds of billions of dollars" — both in terms of health care costs and lost productivity.

The Salt

How To Make Healthy Eating Easier On The Wallet? Change The Calculation

"And so that relatively small difference," he says, "should really be an incentive for policymakers" to find ways to help low-income families bridge that extra $1.50 per day.

The researchers evaluated the cost of food by types of eating pattern — for example, a diet heavy on vegetables, nuts and fruits, like the Mediterranean diet, versus one rich in processed foods and meat. They also looked at price differences within specific food categories, such as grains, proteins, fats and dairy. The biggest price differences arose when it came to proteins/meats: Healthier, leaner cuts, they found, were on average about 29 cents more per serving. Only one of the studies included in the meta-analysis examined the cost of restaurant foods stratified by healthfulness — and that's definitely an area, the authors say, where more research is needed.

The research, published this week in the British Medical Journal Open, comes as House and Senate negotiators on Capitol Hill are debating a new farm bill — including billions of dollars in cuts to the federal food-assistance program formerly known as food stamps. It's now called the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP.

"This study couldn't come at a more relevant time," says Josh Wachs, chief strategy officer for Share Our Strength.

His group teaches low-income families who rely on food-assistance programs like SNAP how to navigate the supermarket to make better choices on a tight budget — tips like buying frozen and canned fruits and vegetables when fresh is too expensive, or teaching them how to cut up a whole chicken, which costs less than buying individual breasts, wings and other parts separately. Another key tip: When comparing two items, focus on the price per unit rather than the total price.

"We believe that education can help put healthy food in reach for many more families," Wachs tells The Salt. But subsidies for such education programs provided through SNAP could also be imperiled if the program's funding is cut, he says.

And even for those of us who aren't working under supertight budget constraints at the grocery store, the results of the meta-analysis are eye-opening, says Mozaffarian.

"Just as an excuse to not eat healthy," he says, "for most Americans, I think price is not an excuse."